Adult VR Fest, which was held in the Akihabara district of Tokyo last month, drew a crowd of hundreds—but according to reports from the ground, just a few dozen people were allowed into the event before the organisers decided to close it down.

It seems that the organisers simply weren't prepared for so many visitors—and indeed, the venue itself looks like it was much too small to legally or safely accommodate the throngs.

Here's a first-hand report from a Japanese blogger called Eizo Wu, translated by a VR Talk forum member:

The event didn’t start until 2pm, so I went there in high spirits an hour before then, but the city was already overflowing with people. There were so many that it was almost impossible to keep the situation under control. While waiting for my friends, I couldn’t help but think that if they couldn’t control the mass of people, a riot or something similar could happen. The 20 lucky guys closest to the building were let in by the staff. I’m sure there was a line inside the building that rivalled the one outside.

The few lucky souls who penetrated the inner sanctum were greeted with some rather, er, interesting devices and gizmos. For the most part, the experiences seemed to revolve around watching porn on a VR headset, and then some kind of meatspace contraption that enhanced or augmented the experience in some way. The object pictured at the top of the story, for example, is just some kind of dumb mannequin; it doesn't appear to have any orifices or contain any electronics.

One particularly high-tech device appeared to involve a cardboard box, which uses jets of air to provide haptic feedback that simulates the sensation of touching a breast:

Further Reading

Other gadgets on display included a silicone hand attached to some kind of apparatus that moves up and down, and breast cup things that presumably vibrate or pulsate in some way.

Of course, it is totally unsurprising to see such high demand for a VR porn festival. While a lot has been said about the possible VR applications for gaming and retail experiences and consuming media, porn—which I have tried, and is amazing—will clearly be the thrusting force behind early adoption of VR headsets. There was never really any doubt, considering VR headsets will mostly be used in private settings—in the bedroom, if that's where your big PC is, or in the living room if you have the Gear VR or similar.

VR games will eventually find their feet, I'm sure, but for now they're hardly moving the needle: a recent analysis of VR games on Steam showed that, despite decent sales, almost no one is actually playing games in VR.

Sebastian Anthony
Sebastian is the editor of Ars Technica UK. He usually writes about low-level hardware, software, and transport, but it is emerging science and the future of technology that really get him excited. Emailsebastian@arstechnica.co.uk//Twitter@mrseb